Has this been discussed yet? This was bonkers! And not something I imagine any parents worries about happening when sending a child off to college:
https://www.thecut.com/2019/04/larry-ray-sarah-lawrence-students.html
Wow. Just, wow.
Could you give a brief summary. Some folks (like me) do not open links.
There was a father who moved into his freshman daughter’s on-campus house and over a period of time created a kind of personilty cult with her roommates following him into personally disastrous situations. So awful.
I can’t believe the college allowed this to continue on their premises.
@thumper1 You can read the article by googling “the stolen kids of Sarah Lawrence, the cut”.
Maybe this is an article all kids should read before going to college. Very tragic and disturbing.
This is horrifying.
I am deeply perturbed that Allen Green, the Dean of Student life at Sarah Lawrence, could so blithely avoid being held responsible, or even implicated, in any way in the harm which befell these young people, if the statements and characterization of Green, as recalled by the parents involved, are accurate.
From the announcement of the promotion of Dean Green to the new position of Dean of Equity and Inclusion at Sarah Lawrence (and I have to think it an intended mockery of all these families have gone through):
"Dean Green moves into this new position having stewarded campus life for well over a decade. His leadership in this new role will ensure that we are putting our students’ needs at the forefront of institutional priorities.”
One thing left out in the above description is that the daughter, who was a SLC student, told her roommates that her father was getting out of prison and needed a place to crash.
So, not only did SLC overlook a 50-ish old man living in a dorm; it overlooked a convicted felon living in a dorm. The parents of one roommate say they complained and Green’s response was “a father has a right to visit his daughter.” (He lived there for months.)
He would make the kids confess they had stolen or destroyed some item belonging to him and then force them t pay him. One kid really thought he’d be killed if he didn’t pay–and his parents paid a LOT of money for a totally bogus claim.
If a father tried to stay in either of my sons’ college dorms, he would have been kicked out pronto.
I’m confused by the nature of the housing. It doesn’t sound like a traditional dorm. Rather, a house on campus property available for a group of students? IOW, no RA?
I’m trying to think back to my college days at a small LAC. There were houses along the perimeter of campus that housed students. Some were frats. Some were clubs (also served as housing). I don’t recall whether there was any adult assigned to these houses like an RA in a dorm. Doubtful? But I don’t know for sure.
I’m appalled SLU did not get involved when the father was clearly living in university housing.
I am familiar with similar stories, without the evil of this parent. I moved into off campus housing at one time as an UG, with a group of non college folks, including some older people. Nothing nefarious, but not a move I would advocate. I’m glad my kids did not do the same.
I would be furious if I knew that had gone on at my kid’s college.
Terrifying! I’d be beyond furious if anything like that happened at my kids’ college! Larry sounds like a huge control freak and very scary man!
I’m sure a lot of parents had to do a lot to help get their kids what they needed after being around Larry and the toxic environment he created.
I can’t see how the school allowed this 50+ year old man to live on their campus—very creepy.
This guy sounds like a dangerous psychopath. Very scary how it said he can manipulate even the most experienced psychologists and interviewers.
I think SLC will be facing a lawsuit for allowing this Exxon to live with these college students Bd create this cult. Ick!
Glad I read the entire article. It sounds more of a house located on campus so not really a traditional dorm situation. Besides, the father was invited to stay by the 8 roommates. And he ingratiated himself by cooking,cleaning and providing a paternal presence which is how it remained for a good long time before evolving.
I listen to a podcast (highly recommend) called “Cults” (they feature different ones from all over the world) which covers this type of behavior and how devotees get sucked in and how the behavior of a leader evolves over years from something seemingly innocuous to more dangerous and mind controlling. It’s a power shift from the individual to that of a controlling force.
Scary how he sucked in so many vulnerable people. I read the whole article and it is hard to imagine how intelligent students fell for this guy in the first place --and didn’t get out earlier. Why did they all go along with such weirdness/abuse? Strange that he worked with his daughter. I once knew a similar psycho/manipulative/threatening/thieving pair–a mother/son.
The rights to the story have been bought by Mark Wahlberg and a partner. It isn’t known yet whether it will be a movie or TV show. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jason-blum-mark-wahlberg-adapt-stolen-kids-sarah-lawrence-1207332
It is really hard to believe how intelligent people could get sucked in by this sociopath. @jonri - I was just going to say that someone will want to make a movie of this!
I hope it will become a widely viewed movie in order to educate as many people as possible about manipulative personalities and cults.